Gayle stands between Sri Lanka and title

October 6, 2012
Sri-CRICKET_west


Sri Lanka would look to rein in a marauding Chris Gayle, whose performance may be a determining factor when the dominating hosts clash with an upbeat West Indies in the final of the World Twenty20 in Colombo on Sunday.


Sri Lanka are aiming to win their second world title after a gap of 16 years as their first and only World trophy came in 1996 while the Caribbean side are playing a World event final after nearly 30 years, having last played against India at the Lord’s in 1983.


Sri Lanka should be favourites not only because of home conditions but also due to the variety of players from Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara to Thisara Perera who can change their game according to the needs.


The West Indies on the other hand have some very competent T20 players in Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard but all of them love to rally around Gayle who is the pivotal force in this Caribbean set-up.


Darren Sammy and his bunch of brave-hearts know that Gayle’s performance will be key in the outcome of the match.


The situation was summed up aptly by Australia captain George Bailey after suffering a crushing 74-run defeat against the Caribbean side on Friday.


“If Sri Lanka can get Gayle out under 20 runs, they are the favourites to win the title but if they can’t then West Indies are too strong,” Bailey opined when he was asked about the favourite team to win the Cup.


For the West Indies, a lot of things will be at stake in the match. It’s not that there will be a sea change in the declining cricket culture in the Caribbean islands but a victory on global stage might provide encouragement for the youth, who are more obsessed with basketball and dream of making the cut in the NBA league.


The win also help Sammy get some breathing space after constant speculation for the past year about whether he is good enough to lead the West Indies.


A gentleman to the core, Sammy has handled all kinds of uncomfortable questions with aplomb but a victory on Sunday might help him capture the imagination of the cricket loving public in the Caribbean.


Gayle, who smashed his way to a 41-ball-75 against Australia, knows too well that T20 is a game where luck plays a factor.


When Gayle was questioned whether he would be able to attack the bowling of Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Rangana Herath like he launched into Xavier Doherty, he replied, “He (Herath) has bowled really well but the performance depends on that particular day.”


For Jayawardene and Sangakkara, it will be the fourth final after 2007 World Cup, 2009 World T20 and 2011 World Cup and the two seniors are desperate to lift the trophy before their home crowd.


Jayawardene over the past few years have shown that T20 can be played successfully without playing any unorthodox shots. Sangakkara has also been in good form and on his day he can take on any bowling attack in the world.


If the duo clicks against West Indies, half of Sri Lankan’s worries will be taken care of. One of the major cause of concern for them is the form of their swashbuckling opener Tillakaratne Dilshan.


A lot will also depend on how Mahela uses his two all-rounders Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perrera. Although Jayawardene prefers pint-sized Jeevan Mendis for his ability to manoeuvre the ball, the big-hitters like Mathews and Perrera can turn the match on its head.


“People wish about playing one World Cup final and I am fortunate of being part of all four of them. This one is at Premadasa Sadium and it will be a special occasion,” Jayawardene said.


The bowling attack is a problem for the West Indies.


While leg-spinner Samuel Badree did his cause no harm by picking up both Shane Watson and David Warner in the semifinals, there is no guarantee that Sammy will persist with leggie knowing full well that how good Lankans are against spin bowling.


In that case, Fidel Edwards who bowls at a brisk pace will come in as Badree’s replacement. Marlon Samuels, bowling his fastish off-breaks and skiddy Ravi Rampaul can be devastating on their day.
Jayawardene is likely to go with the same team as he wouldn’t like to expose his talented boy wonder Akhila Dhananjaya in front of a marauding Gayle as it can dent the young boy’s confidence.


Teams (From):


West Indies: Darren Sammy (C), Dwayne Bravo, Samuel Badree, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith.
Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (C), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Akila Dananjaya, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Shaminda Eranga, Rangana Herath, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis, Jeevan Mendis, Dilshan Munaweera, Thisara Perera, Kumar Sangakkara, Lahiru Thirimann.


Match starts at 1900 Hours (IST).

Taufel and Aleem Dar to officiate in final

Australian Simon Taufel will officiate in tomorrow’s World Twenty20 summit clash between Sri Lanka and West Indies -- his last assignment as an ICC Elite panel umpire.


The 41-year-old had already announced that he would retire after World Twenty20 to become the Umpire Performance and Training Manager with the ICC.


In an outstanding career, Taufel umpired in 74 Tests and 174 ODIs with his last Test and ODI appearances being at Lord’s a month ago in matches featuring England and South Africa.


Taufel won the ICC Umpire of the Year award for five successive years from 2004 to 2008.


Taufel along with Pakistan’s Aleem Dar will be the on-field umpires for the final between Sri Lanka and West Indies.


Rod Tucker and Ian Gould have been appointed the third and fourth umpires respectively. Match referee for the game would be Jeff Crowe, an ICC release said.



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News Network
April 14,2020

Melbourne, Apr 14: As all sporting action across the world has come to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic, Australian bowlers are pondering as to how Indian skipper Virat Kohli might play in front of no spectators.

India and Australia are scheduled to play a four-match Test series later this year, and it is being speculated that the series might end up taking place without any crowds due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australian spinner Nathan Lyon on Tuesday said that it would be interesting to see how Kohli goes about it if he does not get a chance to get the audience behind him.

"He is probably good enough to adapt to any scenario. But I was talking to Mitch Starc the other day and we actually said that if we are playing with no crowd, it'll be quite amazing to see Virat trying to rev up the empty seats," cricket.com.au quoted Lyon as saying.

"It is going to be a little bit different, but Virat is a superstar. He will be able to adapt to any climate that we are able to play in," he added.
During the 2018-19 series, India managed to defeat Australia in Australia for the first time in a Test series.

Australia, at that time were without the services of David Warner and Steve Smith. However, the series later this year promises to be a mouth-watering prospect.

"I am excited about the prospect of India coming out to Australia, it's up there with the biggest series alongside the Ashes. They are an absolute powerhouse of the cricket world, and to have those guys out here is going to be fantastic. Playing in front of crowds or no crowds is out of our control, we have got to follow the advice of all the amazing medical people around the world," Lyon said.

"I have not thought about no crowds or massive crowds, it is just about the opportunity of playing against India again. They had the wood over us last time they came over here but we are a much stronger Australian cricket side at the moment, and I am just unbelievably excited about playing them here at home," he added.

Lyon was slated to represent Hampshire in County Championship this year, however, his stint was called off last week due to COVID-19.
He is Australia's third-highest wicket-taker in the longest format of the game as he has total of 390 wickets in Test cricket.

Lyon was last seen in action in the Big Bash League for Sydney Sixers.

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News Network
May 24,2020

Melbourne, May 24: Former Australia captain Mark Taylor does not foresee the T20 World Cup scheduled in October-November going ahead and wants the ICC to take a decision during its Board meeting this week.

Taylor also feels that if IPL takes place during the window the T20 World Cup was to be held, the Australian players are likely to be cleared by their Board to take part in the cash-rich league in India.

The ICC Board meets on May 28 to discuss a host of issues related to COVID-19 pandemic, including a revamped schedule and the fate of the men's T20 World Cup in Australia.

For latest updates and live news on coronavirus, click here

"My feeling is the World T20 won't go ahead in Australia in October as planned. Is it going to be viable to have a world tournament in October or November? The answer to that is probably no," Taylor, also a former Cricket Australia (CA) director, was quoted as saying by 'Nine Network'.

"It would probably be good (if a decision is made this week). Because then everyone can start planning and we can stop sitting here and saying 'well ifs, buts or maybes'."

CA chief executive Kevin Roberts has said that a call on the fate of the T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held from October 18 to November 15, may potentially not come until August.

Read: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths

But players and administrators around the world are keen for some certainty and many have predicted that the 16-team event will soon be postponed.

There are reports that the BCCI is eyeing the October window for the IPL though officially it maintained, that it will not consider new dates of the cash-rich league until the T20 World Cup's fate is decided.

Taylor said the CA wants to keep BCCI happy so the Australia players are likely to be cleared for the IPL if it happens in October.

Pat Cummins, who was bought for a record amount of Rs 15.50 crore in last year's IPL auction, is among the Australians keen to take part in this year's competition.

"The Cricket Australia board will want to keep India happy. So they may want to let the players go to India if the IPL goes ahead," Taylor said.

"Because they want India to come here this summer and play, which will be our biggest summer in terms of dollars. That's the sort of discussion going on. No doubt."

Virat Kohli's team is scheduled to arrive in Australia for a Test tour starting November, which will go along way in addressing CA's financial woes triggered by teh COVID-19 pandemic.

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News Network
January 31,2020

New Delhi, Jan 31: Indian women's team captain Rani Rampal on Thursday became the first-ever hockey player to win the prestigious 'World Games Athlete of the Year' award.

The World Games announced the winner on Thursday after 20 days of polling by sports fans world-wide.

"Indian hockey superstar Rani is The World Games Athlete of the Year 2019! Huge congratulations!," the World Games said in a statement.

"With an impressive number of votes, 199,477, Rani is the clear winner of the Athlete of the Year race, where sports fans all over the world have voted for their favourite during 20 days of polling in January. All in all, over 705,610 votes were cast during the poll," it added.

Last year, India won the FIH Series Finals, and Rani was named Player of the Tournament. Under Rani's leadership, the Indian women's team qualified for just the third Olympic Games in its history.

"I dedicate this award to the entire hockey fraternity, my team and my country. This success has only become possible with the love and support from hockey lovers, fans, my team, coaches, Hockey India, my government, friends from Bollywood, fellow sportspersons and my countrymen who have continuously voted for me," said Rani, who was recently named among the Padma Shri awardees.

"Special thanks to FIH for nominating me for this prestigious award. Thank you to The World Games Federation for this recognition," she added.

Rani further said after a successful 2019, she is now looking forward to achieving greater heights with the national team in 2020, which also happens to be an Olympic year.

"It is my privilege and honour to win this award. It is always nice when your country recognises your effort. It is even better when the international sports community recognises it. Thank you so much to everyone who voted for me," she said.

"2019 was a great year for our team because we qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. As a team we want to make 2020 a great year!"

Rani, who has been a member of the national team since she was a 15-years-old, currently has more than 240 caps for India.

"Rani is an inspirational athlete, and a role model for many in India. It was amazing to see the support the Indians, even as high up as Mr Rijiju, the Minister of State, Youth Affairs and Sports, gave to her in this vote together with the Hockey fans all around the world. This is what sport is about: uniting people from different backgrounds and different countries," said International World Games Association President Jose Perurena.

The International Hockey Federation also congratulated Rani on being named for the award.

"Congratulations @imranirampal for becoming the first ever Hockey athlete to win the prestigious @TheWorldGames Athlete of the Year award!" the FIH, who nominated Rani for the award, said in its twitter handle.

"On behalf of FIH and the global hockey community, I would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Rani for having been voted The World Games Athlete of the Year 2019. This is an acknowledgement of her outstanding performances - together with her team-mates - and her dedication to hockey and her leadership," FIH CEO Thierry Weil said.

"This prestigious Award is also a great recognition for hockey globally. Furthermore, we are working hard for and looking forward to having Hockey 5s as a demonstration sport at The World Games 2021."

Congratulating Rani, Hockey India President Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad said, "This is a very proud moment for all of us. She is the first Indian athlete to win this award and through her achievements Rani has been able to draw a lot of attention towards women's hockey. Many people are aware of the team's recent accomplishments and I am confident this team is capable of winning larger goals and I wish Rani and the team best of luck this Olympic Year."

There were initially 25 nominees, male and female nominated by their respective sports federations, which was later reduced to 10 in the final round of public voting.

The FIH has recommended Rani's name for her outstanding performances and her ability to lead by example.

Karate star Stanislav Horuna of Ukraine was second behind Rani with over 92,000 votes and Canadian powerlifting world champion Rhaea Stinn was third.

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